How To Choose The Right Pillow For You

October 10, 2016

HEALTH WARNING: This post contains shocking images of a dirty old pillow! I’m a poor sleeper and often awake in the small hours. To improve my sleeping habits, I’ve invested a lot of time and money in creating the perfect bed. This is virtually pointless if you don’t get the details right, like choosing the right pillows for you. Here’s my essential buyer’s guide to picking the correct pillow for you to take you from Awake to Zzzzzzz.

Pillows – The Unsung Heroes

I’ve written before about my lack of sleep, and how I created my ultimate bedtime routine to a good nights sleep which you can read more about here where I talk about the good practice of preparing yourself before you head to bed. Now I want to take this advice to the next level, looking in more detail at the bedroom basics – Pillows

Bedding is so important to helping your sleep and that includes your pillows. They are the unsung heroes of a good night’s sleep. Your pillow can really make the difference between a waking up refreshed or waking up with mad bed hair and a grumpy morning face.

We spend hours and tons of money choosing new bed and mattress – I hold my hands up as guilty of this! I once spent £1000 on a mattress. It can all count for nothing if your pillow is the wrong one for you.

My bed – just for me – with layers of pillows

Pillows wear out

Let me start by throwing some facts at you – in survey by Sealy (a UK bedding manufacture) and the British Chiropractic Association, 15% of those asked did not change their pillows for at least 10 years. That is a bit grim for several reasons. A/ the filling degrades over time and B/there are plenty of hygiene reasons why changing your pillow at least every five years is a good idea.

And, I’ll confess I might be one of the 15%. I have no clue how long I have had my old feather pillows. Brace yourself….here is my old pillow complete with random stains, marks and god-knows-what. I liked that it was all squishy but on closer inspection, it was full of broken feathers. Actually, I can’t look any more. I feel a bit sick. Needless to say, this pillow ended up in the bin.

I think this pillow should come with a Bio-hazard warning

Try before you buy

I’ve bought pillows in the past on-line then I discover they are really uncomfortable. Doh! That is because pillows are like mattresses – you need to try before you buy. Oh – and if you do sleep on two pillows, buy them together and try them together.

When shopping for pillows go to a shop that stocks a good range so you can squeeze them, touch them, press them and give them a good old grabble. My pick is Debenhams or House of Fraser who have a great choice or even better, try your local bed retailer, where you can test out your pillow selection on a real mattress. If the sales staff give you a funny look – tell them I told you to do it. This is scientific research.

Not to self: Dress must always match flamingo

What Is The Perfect pillow?

The basics: Your perfect pillow should keep your head in line with the rest of your body, and mould to the shape of your head and neck. No two people have the same sleeping patterns so which pillow you pick is a very personal choice. I’ve found this really handy website which will guide you through how to pick the right pillow you need depending on your sleeping position – clever, clever.

My Tip: I’m a restless sleeper and often have back and neck pain resulting from lifting heavy furniture on shoots. I like having two pillows. Not to sleep on at the same time, mind you. But to swap around depending on how my neck and body feel each night. One pillow isn’t alway going to be the answer for you – that is why you have to try out a couple.

What pillow did I pick?

After muchtesting and trying out I went high-tech with my pillow choice. I heard about the ‘Select’ range by Sealy that uses a hypoallergenic synthetic fibre that replicates silk called Serica. I found this super-fine filling was super soft and springy, and felt really firm but bouncy when I pressed on it.

My Pillow Comboination

My No1: Sealy Select Response ‘Clusterfill’ Pillow

I liked that this pillow had a quilted microfibre cover which removes moisture from the surface and away from my skin, ideal for the hot Summer months. Keeping moisture away from your skin also keeps it looking good. 🙂 The high tech ‘Serica’ fibres in the body pillow give it a soft structure but with no fear of it turning lumpy. I thought this one would be good for when I get a migrane and need to rest my head gently, or when I’m sitting up in bed watching telly. This bad boy costs around £33.99. [It’s the one in the top here]

My no2: Sealy Pocket Springback Pillow

This pillow is a much firmer one and is designed to give more support to my spine. I thought was a good alternative to my other choice. As the name suggests it’s pocket sprung (28 springs to be exact) which makes it really firm and I’ve noticed it springs back into shape instantly after I lift my head – I think this must be down to the layers of memory foam inside. These layers, according to the packaging – aid air circulation which is again is good for sleeping. It’s got a soft fleecey cover too. This one is more pricey at £44.99 each.

That’s my double pick. New pillows are a worthy investment – but these two come with a two-year guarantee, not that anything is going to go wrong with them but nice to know.

If you need a run down on pillow know-how for you check out the Sealy Sleep Centre which goes into more detail into the different ranges that will work for you.

Not just for your head

All my friends know how obessed I am about having a beautifully made bed. I’ve invested in two cotton protectors to keep my new pillows in good nick. Next I make my bed with the best cotton sheets I can afford. When I’m feeling flush, I splash out at Zara Home – which is about £40 for a duvet cover in the sale or when I’m on a tighter budget I pick up sheets at Asda like this one for my spare room or H&M sheets – both are around £20-30 for a complete set.

Take your own

My sister gave me this great little tip. She travels a lot with work and she always takes her own pillow with her. Your neck is used to your own pillow and won’t have to adjust as much. You’ll sleep better and just imagine what hotel pillows are like….erugh.

Teddy listening to my ‘No Dogs On The Bed’ rule

One Last Tip

Oh, and as your pillow can be as important as your mattress and even if you share a bed, don’t share a pillow – keep it to yourself! You and your loved one will have different pillow needs anyway so it’s a good idea to have your own.

What do you think?

I’m going to be writing a few posts on sleep over the next months – look out for them. I’m doing up my spare room for my air bnb guests so am looking for a new mattress, and I was recently asked to do a short talk at heals on sleeping patterns so I’ll post about that too. Look out for that – I’ll pack them full of buying guides and advice for us to share.

Like this:

Karen Clough-Haha you are not alone with those pillows! I have a huge stash of the horrible things. Definitely need to get rid and just invest in new ones! And you can’t go wrong with Sealy. We have just got Sealy pillows in our master bedroom and have always had a Sealy mattress and they’re both amazing.13th October 2016 – 2:34 pmReplyCancel

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WeLoveHomeBlog -I feel so much better for swapping them over. Urgh13th October 2016 – 8:13 pmReplyCancel

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Stacey Sheppard-Pretty sure we all have pillows like that. Very brave of you to post a photo though. I have made the mistake of buying pillows online a couple of times now and they are never the right pillows for me. I’ll definitely be taking your advice and going to a store next time I invest in new bedding.14th October 2016 – 8:01 pmReplyCancel

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WeLoveHomeBlog -I know – but i felt it was important to show how you stop noticing these things. I now have pillow protectors that I can shove in the wash to keep my pillows looking fresh and new.17th October 2016 – 11:25 amReplyCancel

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MarkPillow -Wow……the process is really awesome. It is also very helpful. Thanks for sharing.29th December 2016 – 3:25 pmReplyCancel

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Best Pillow -I just love the step by step process. Also love the dog as well! Thanks a lot for sharing.29th January 2017 – 5:18 pmReplyCancel

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Wedge Pillows -I love pillows.Cause When i relax from work i like tov sleep than do everything.Thank for sharing a great article.20th September 2017 – 9:17 amReplyCancel

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James Anderson-I like to think of pillows as the ‘jewelry’ of your bed.
You can make almost any drab outfit look stylish with the well thought-out addition to some pretty jewelry as well, just like you can make plain bedding look fabulous by choosing the right pillows and arranging them to compliment one another.
By the way thanks for your tips.3rd October 2017 – 12:16 pmReplyCancel

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WeLoveHomeBlog -Thanks for the comment3rd October 2017 – 7:19 pmReplyCancel

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John-I never thought that a pillow is an essential thing to our life.
thanks for such a great article.7th December 2017 – 12:38 pmReplyCancel

Hi. I'm Maxine and I’m an award-winining interior stylist and a passionate home design blogger living in Brighton. I love to write about interiors, lifestyle and travel ...among many things. Welcome to WeLoveHome.

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